Reaching your 40s often feels like stepping into a pivotal chapter of life. You’re likely juggling a career, managing a home, and raising a family. With these responsibilities come the reality that life is unpredictable. Whilst no one likes to dwell on the thought of their mortality, creating a will is one of the most... Continue Reading →

HMRC has recently formally extended the 'direct payment scheme'. This is the scheme whereby when making a probate application, it is sometimes possible to arrange for organisations holding assets on behalf of the deceased to release funds to HMRC direct to pay inheritance tax, before a grant of probate is issued in the estate. This... Continue Reading →

The Trust Registration Service or TRS is a register showing the underlying ownership of trusts. The service is accessed online, and trustees or their agents must register the details of a trust under their control, in order to comply with their obligations under the anti-money-laundering legislation. The obligation to register a trust was previously limited... Continue Reading →

Much has been written in recent years about the ongoing delays at the Probate Registries. Since Covid, the average length of time that it has taken to obtain a grant has risen a great deal, and in some of the more complex estates, the delay has been as long as 24 weeks. A delay in... Continue Reading →

It is important to provide for your pets in your will. In legal terms, clinical though it may sound, animals are considered to be 'personal possessions', i.e. assets that belong to the person making the will, and they can be given away in the same way as a piece of jewellery or a house. The... Continue Reading →

Making a Will with a disabled child requires plenty of thought. Often, the child's parents or grandparents will be anxious to ensure that the child is well provided-for financially for the rest of their life, whilst on the other hand not wanting to prejudice their valuable entitlement to certain means-tested state benefits and care that... Continue Reading →

Updating your Will after a separation is crucial. Following a separation, most people want to update their Will in order to remove their separated spouse as their executor and as one of the beneficiaries in their will, usually preferring to leave everything to their children or other beneficiaries, under the circumstances. What does the law... Continue Reading →

Can an adopted child claim on their parent's estate? I regularly meet clients who have had a child in the past who was legally adopted and brought up by another family, and with whom the biological parent has had no further contact. Very often the client has gone on marry and to have more children, whom... Continue Reading →